Oswald (TV series)
Oswald is an American children's animated television series originally airing on Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Jr. block. It first aired on August 20, 2001 in the United States. The show was created by Dan Yaccarino and was co-produced by HIT Entertainment and Nickelodeon. It was also broadcast on Noggin and CBS (during the Nick Jr. on CBS programming block) in reruns. Plot The series is set in Big City, a colorful world populated by a cast of anthropomorphic animals, mythological creatures, and humanoid beings. Each episode follows the daily experiences of an anthropomorphic blue octopus named Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage), accompanied by his beloved pet hot dog Weenie, and their life in the cheerful and whimsically-designed community of Big City. Commonly, the program concentrates on Oswald's experiences with friends, acquaintances, and neighbors—including Henry, a talking penguin and Daisy, an anthropomorphic flower, among others—and his patient methods of coping with or tolerating different situations and dilemmas, along with his thoroughly optimistic outlook on life. Characters Main *Oswald (voiced by Fred Savage) – Oswald is a large blue octopus (four arms, four legs) who lives in an apartment complex with Henry the Penguin and several other animals including a turtle named Buster. A very gentle, polite and big-hearted octopus, Oswald is always willing to go out of his way to help his friends. His favorite hobby is playing the piano and singing. *Weenie (voiced by Debi Derryberry) – Weenie is Oswald's pet. Weenie bears a strong resemblance to a hot dog and only communicates in "bark-speak" . Weenie accompanies Oswald everywhere he goes, and her favorite food is vanilla dog biscuits. *Henry the Penguin (voiced by David Lander) – Oswald's downstairs neighbor and best friend. Henry is a creature of habit in every way and usually shuns the idea of trying different things, though he can sometimes be persuaded otherwise. He does his best to maintain a rigid schedule, which includes taking care of his extensive spoon collection, ending every evening watching "Penguin Patrol", his favorite TV show, and doing the Penguin Polka before bedtime. Most of Henry's favorite foods are fish-flavored and he is a proven expert on snow. He has an identical cousin from the North named Louie (voiced by Michael McKean), and on occasion speaks of an Aunt Arctica. His motto is "slow and steady". He always takes two (used to be three) marshmallows in his hot cocoa, saying "No more, no less". He is also hates getting wet. *Daisy (voiced by Crystal Scales) – Daisy is a tall orange/yellow/green daisy. Free-spirited and energetic, Daisy participates in sports and other activities. She is a close friend of both Oswald and Henry; the three of them often go on sojourns together. Daisy loves sunflower sundaes, riding her unicycle , has large leaf collection and loves peppermint tea. Daisy is very excitable and often has to be hushed by Oswald when she speaks too loudly. Recurring *Johnny Snowman (voiced by Mel Winkler) – A laid-back snowman who operates an ice cream shop and also has an ice cream truck. Johnny wears a black hat, sports a carrot nose, and has a deep baritone voice. Johnny Snowman has a brother in the Frozen North named Phil. *The Egg Twins – They are two identical twin eggs, named Egbert (voiced by Daran Norris) and Leo (voiced by J. Grant Albrecht). Leo always responds in conversations with an enthusiastic "Yes, yes!" while Egbert refers to everyone as "old boy". *Catrina (voiced by Debi Derryberry) – Catrina is a baby caterpillar that is just learning how to speak. She is the only child of Madame Butterfly. Like other babies, Catrina is highly curious about everything around her, but is always surrounded by her mom or others to keep her curiosity in check. *Madame Butterfly (voiced by Laraine Newman) – The mother of Catrina and the owner and proprieter of the local diner, a favorite lunch stop for Oswald and his friends. Minor *Pongo (voiced by Richard Kind) – Pongo is a large yellow and red dragon with a long, thin, green mustache and is quite similar to the dragons in Chinese culture and folklore. He lives in a Chinese-style home in Big City. In sharp contrast to his otherwise intimidating size, Pongo is very shy and soft-spoken, and known for his occasional clumsiness. *Buster (not voiced) – A very slow moving turtle living in the same apartment building as Oswald. He appears in several episodes. *Cactus Polly (voiced by Laraine Newman) – Polly is a helpful cactus lady who carries a lasso and talks like a cowboy from the wild west. *Sammy Starfish (voiced by Tony Orlando) – Oswald's musical idol, Sammy is a jazz singer. Oswald's dream is to play piano for Sammy Starfish, which becomes a reality when Sammy's show comes to Big City and the tickets are all sold out. *Steve Tree (voiced by Fred Stoller) – Steve is a walking, talking tree. Sometimes his pet Woodrow the woodpecker pecks on him, usually on his head. *Andy Pumpkin (voiced by Eddie Deezen) – Steve Tree's loopy best friend. He is a happy-go-lucky pumpkin person and works at a candy shop. He tends to speak in hyper tones when working in the candy shop. *Bingette Bunny (voiced by Kathy Najimy) – A ditsy rabbit who runs the gardening store where Oswald buys his tomato plants or flowers. She is usually very unhelpful but usually says "Just doing my job!" when Oswald leaves the store. *Roderick Robot is a mechanical man with a mechanical cat named Tinsel. Oswald cat-sits for Roderick, and it turns out Tinsel is a very naughty cat. *Bingo (voiced by Mac Davis) – Big City's barber, a quiet rabbit who also runs a news paper store from which Henry buys his news paper. He only talks in the episodes "The Naughty Cat" and "Henry Needs a Haircut". *Louie (voiced by Michael McKean) – Henry's cousin from the Arctic. *Flippy (not voiced) – A fish who Oswald bought at the pet store but had to give to the Big City Aquarium as the fish grew too large. *Paper People (not voiced) – Silent humans made of paper who appear in several episodes as cameo characters. *Woodrow (not voiced) – Steve Tree's pet woodpecker. *Tinsel (not voiced) – Roderick's mechanical pet cat. *Fish (not voiced) – Fish who appear in the episode "Goin' Fishing". *Maestro Bingo – He runs a store of various musical instruments and appears in the episodes "Daisy Plays an Instrument" and "Fixing the Piano". Additional guest voices *Singer Mac Davis *Actor Eddie Deezen *Actor Michael McKean as Henry's cousin Louie from the Arctic. Both Michael McKean and David Lander (Henry) played the characters, "Lenny" and Squiggy " on the ABC sitcom, "Laverne and Shirley.'' *Creator Dan Yaccarino as Freddy the Teddy Bear Broadcast history ''Oswald first aired on the Nick Jr. block on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 20, 2001[3] and was removed from the lineup on July 30, 2004, along with Franklin and Rubbadubbers. On April 7, 2003, Oswald started airing on Noggin and continued to air after September 28, 2009 when it was renamed as Nick Jr., but was removed on March 11, 2013. The show aired in reruns on "Nick on CBS" for 1 year from September 15, 2001, to September 7, 2002. In the UK, the show was aired on the Tiny Living strand on Living TV (now Sky Living) and on Five (now Channel 5), with UK voices instead of the US voices. Sammy Starfish has his regular US voice instead of dubbing him with a UK voice actor. In Australia, the show has aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In Canada, the show has been aired on Treehouse TV. In Southeast Asia and New Zealand it is aired on Nick Jr.. In Japan, a Japanese dubbed version of the show has aired on WOWOW. In India the show was aired on Cartoon Network's Tiny-TV block before airing on Pogo. In Pakistan, the show aired in morning block of Cartoon Network. In Paraguay, the upcoming show has been aired on SNT 9. In the Arab World, Oswald used air on JimJam from 1 December to 30 April each year. Episodes Main article: List of Oswald episodesOswald aired its first episode ("Chasing The Ice-Cream / Camping Trip") on August 20, 2001. Its first and only season ended on September 19, 2003, with the episode pair "Hide & Seek / Weenie Takes a Bath."[3] Reception The show generally received positive reviews, with a 7.0 rating from TV.com,[4] a 7.7 rating from IMDb,[5] and a four out of five stars on Common Sense Media.[6]